What was Past
The story that is currently unfolding truly began some twenty-odd years ago when a demon lord of exceptional power, Tothrimond, tried to gain dominion with the gods by usurping the power of the deity Malvane, a god of spite, hate, and deceit. This demon came to the material plane in secret and moved into the land of Gibling, homeland of the Gnomes, and pulled these poor beings to his cause through fear and force. The gnomes, skilled magicians and crafty builders, are situated in the middle of the civilized lands of the south, so the demon found they provided the ideal conditions to split the lands of the south in two. There were those, however, who became acutely aware that something was not right in the world and began to invesitgate for themselves. Rhu'uk Hornblende, eldest of an old and prominent house in the dwarven lands of Urdur; Angalinor, a promising and skilled member of the magi from Tepliri -- a land renowned for its practitioners of magic; and Gideon, a professed priest of a holy god from the southern lands of Vartia found common cause to discover the truth of this matter. During the course of countering this threat, the three became powerful and influential men in their own rights and accomplished many amazing feats none thought possible at the time. However, darkness always draws to where the light shines brightest. As Rhu'uk began to rise into the role of leader of his house, the ever-increasing desire for power crept into the heart of the powerful Angalinor until what mortal life would allow became insufficient. Such lust for power made the new lord of a border keep next to Xanyahou become susceptible to the designs of Gideon who was not what he had made himself to seem. Over time, Angalinor's keen mind preceived this and that Gideon must have other designs to keep helping them, however. In return for keeping Gideon's secret, Angalinor brokered a bargain that Gideon would help him learn the secrets of lichdom and the everlasting power it promised while he would aid Gideon in his cause to hunt down and destroy the demon that had set itself against Gideon's true deity, Malvane. The two worked closely with one another, and as Angalinor began to perceive more of Gideon's methods and intentions, he soon began to realize that his foolish lust for power had made him blind to just how evil Gideon really was. Particularly, Angalinor became disgusted with the horrors of necromancy and the thought of willingly subjecting himself to it, as well as seeing Gideon's willingness to go out of his way to abuse innocent people when he knew he could get away with it. Gideon was likewise quick to notice the subtle changes in his ally, and the two began a slow building of arms even as they matched wits in a bid to make the best use of the time they had before they inevitably turned on one another. However, Tothrimond finally made his bid for power in the region, so the three united one last time to defeat him, though quite reluctantly now. Once successful, Rhu'uk returned to his homeland, and his house was filled with riches and glory from his great deeds. His sons, however, coveted their father's position and possessions and attempted to murder Rhu'uk and gain their inheritance early. Though it seemed Rhu'uk was slain, the two were caught in the act and forced to flee with whatever possession they could take quickly, leaving the noble house in disarray and becoming exiles in their country. Meanwhile, the rivalry between Gideon and Angalinor finally came to a head, with both sides fully prepared for the time of reckoning -- too prepared. It is not known who tipped their hand first or why, but it is most likely that the sheer number of wards, contingent spells, and traps built up over many years of paranoia detonated in a chain reaction unpredicted in its intensity. Some speculate that a prototype of the now-feared and highly coveted Heliogenesis spell was involved, judging by the resulting devastation. In the end, Angalinor's keep of Enmun-Ecthol was destroyed along with most of Gideon's secret lair beneath. All that stands now amongst the rubble is the Tower of Abjuration, which was nearly untouched. It is perhaps fortunate for Angalinor that the fearsome spell was activated somehow, though, for it destroyed most of the evidence that directly connected him to Gideon. That, and his quick evacuation of the people within earned him a small amount of leniency. However, enough was left of Gideon's lair to condemn Angalinor in the eyes of his people (the place of horror was in his basement), and so he was exiled. To this day, Angalinor is haunted by the discovery within the desecrated lair of several of his students, ritually sacrificed in a chamber, with Gideon's body nowhere to be found. Perhaps even worse is his knowledge that Gideon and his followers survived to escape the devastation, with all his plans, his damned pride, and so many deaths and so much suffering amounting to nothing more than a draw that lost Angalinor nearly everything -- even his name. Anganor -- and just Anganor -- as he is now known, essentially lives under probation in the land of Portiri, far from where Tepliri must acknowledge the shame of someone once their own. Not much is known of the arrangement, save that Anganor is being given the chance to earn his place back in Tepliri (known by everyone to be highly unlikely, if it will ever happen), and that Portiri, through Tepliri, exercises some kind of control over him. At least that is the only way most can understand his being lord of an academy and keep again, though it is well-known that Tepliri desires to make use of his power in battle if necessary and to keep him as a useful threat to check the Kobolds. His possession of Heliogenesis and known connection to a strong red dragon are likely factors as well. Regardless, Portiri does not allow him to travel far -- again, making it apparent that they have some kind of leverage -- so his mission to challenge Gideon has taken painstaking planning to counteract, which he must enact soon.